Our holdings include hundreds of glass and film negatives/transparencies that we've scanned ourselves; in addition, many other photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs) in the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) They are adjusted, restored and reworked by your webmaster in accordance with his aesthetic sensibilities before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here. All of these images (including "derivative works") are protected by copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions and may not be sold, reproduced or otherwise used for commercial purposes without permission.

November 1910. Birmingham, Alabama. "John Tidwell, doffer in Avondale Mills." A closeup of the boy seen earlier today, this image was extracted from a scan of the original 5x7 glass negative, as opposed to the print used for the group shot. View full size. From a photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine.

November 1910. Birmingham, Ala. Workers in the Avondale Mills in Jefferson County. (The Avondale Mills in St. Clair County burned today in Pell City.) Smallest boy is John Tidwell. Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.

1942. Inglewood, California. Riveting team working on the cockpit shell of a C-47 heavy transport at North American Aviation. "The versatile C-47 performs many important tasks for the Army. It ferries men and cargo across the oceans and mountains, tows gliders and brings paratroopers and their equipment to scenes of action." View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. Happy Valentine's Day from Shorpy!

Shorpy is a year old today! Thanks to the many thousands of visitors and commenters and contributors who have helped make this Web site the remarkable place that it is. And of course we wouldn't be here without the efforts of the photographers whose pictures appear here, and the conservators and archivists who have preserved their work and made it available online through the Library of Congress. This might also be a good time to reflect on the life of our namesake, Shorpy Higginbotham, whose likeness animates these pages and spirit inhabits them. And now on with the show. Only a zillion more pictures to go . . .

Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo blog featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1950s. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.